A top official of Sudan’s governing National Congress Party (NCP) has condemned as unacceptable and provocative, remarks by Sudan’s first Vice President and President of south Sudan, Salva Kiir that he will only vote for separation in the upcoming 9th January referendum.
Rabie Abdelati Obeid said Mr. Kiir’s pronouncement contradicts the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the NCP and Mr. Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
“This is really against what he signed and what the SPLM signed in the CPA. Because (the) CPA stated clearly that the SPLM with the National Congress Party should work together to achieve unity and to make unity attractive during the interim period…This is a clear violation of the CPA and it is against that agreement witnessed by the regional and international organizations,” he said.
Addressing his supporters over the weekend in the south Sudan capital, Juba, Mr. Kiir said he will not vote for Sudan’s unity since the north has not made unity attractive ahead of the referendum.
As part of the CPA, residents in the semi-autonomous south are scheduled to vote in a referendum to decide whether to be part of the north or secede and become an independent country.
SPLM officials have often accused the NCP of undermining the activities of the commission mandated to organize the January referendum, a charge the NCP denies.
NCP official Obeid said Mr. Kiir’s statement is aimed at influencing the decision of residents in the south in the run up to the referendum.
“I don’t know what they mean by saying NCP didn’t make unity attractive. If the CPA is fully implemented up to the referendum and the NCP is ready to accept the referendum results whenever the referendum is fair and transparent, I think this is the utmost effort to be exerted to make unity attractive.”
Obeid also said, “we want to know what NCP has done to be accused that NCP didn’t make unity attractive when the whole country is not governed by only NCP but both NCP and SPLM. And in addition to that the whole south is governed during the interim period by the SPLM without any intervention of the federal government.”
